Lake Lakira
Lake Lakira is a surreal and calm lake near the Keep. Magi relax here while their water companions play in the water. Lake is connected with the ocean by a deep tunnel. Description Surreal and calm, you can often find a young magi tucked away under a tree, reading, on the hottest days of summer. If you watch long enough, you're sure to see a waving tentacle of spray of water as a koi fish leaps. This is the favorite residence of the water creatures; leviathans, krakens - you can find them all here, lounging in the shallow end by the waterfall, or the young ones engaged in constant mock battles. Said to have been created by the same forgotten mage who founded The Keep, this lake is extremely deep, and suited perfectly to endless varieties of creatures. Sweet watergrass and moss grow along the bottom, delicacies that change with the seasons. During winter, it is kept heated through ancient magic, and the animals that call it home enjoy having magis escape the cold by diving in. If the heat gets too stifling, shrug off your robes or traveling clothes and take a swim - there's no lack of playmates. If you dive deep down, you can see where the young hatchlings have created piles of treasures - sparkly rocks and the odd scale. Swim near a koi fish, and it will give you the temporary power to breath beneath the lake. This is where basic training lessons take place, if you possess a koi or any other watery beast. Basic things like being able to ride a kraken or leviathan are taught here, where there is no immediate danger. The finer arts of learning to swim next to your koi and breath under water are conducted here as well. Exploring deep enough, you can find a wide tunnel large enough to let a leviathan pass through. You don't follow it, knowing you'll run out of air, but you know this is how the creatures are able to travel to the nearby ocean when they tire of the lake. When you've exhausted yourself with diving, ask one of the young krakens and you can receive a throw in the air, sparking a game among the hatchling of catch-the-mage. Dry out under the sun afterward on a hot rock, alongside basilisks and the occasional cat, before you trudge back to The Keep on the well worn path. Legends It is said, that when the first magi created Lake Lakira, he chose the place because a great temple stood there. When the Lake had been formed, the temple still stood on an island in the middle, where the Lake is deepest today. It is not known, who built the temple, or who it was built for. That information has been lost to the ages. But the tale of how it sunk beneath the surface is still told. When the first magi had created the Keep and students started to flock to it, the other magi grew jealous of the place he had created. Setting their differences aside, they joined together. Spells were designed that forced creatures into their service, the same kinds of creatures that had befriended the peaceful magi at the keep. When they had enslaved enough of them, they set forth to lay siege to the Keep, and capture it for their own purpose. Soon, the Keep was surrounded and the magi inside and their animal friends fought hard to keep out the foe. One young magi was not at the Keep at that time. She had been visiting her home town and when she returned, she was spotted by the enemy. Two Gryphons were sent to capture her and her Pegasus steed. The attack caught her off guard and both she and the Pegasus were wounded. Fighting for her life in the air, she could see it in the eyes of the Gryphons that it pained them having to attack her, but that they were compelled to do so. And when she struck the death blow on both of them, tears ran from her eyes. Her Pegasus was severely wounded, and though it tried, it was not able to reach the Keep. It sank lower and lower, and with its final strength, it reached the island in Lake Lakira. The magi wept over the body of her friend and screamed in rage at the sky, demanding it to tell how anyone could enslave the creatures she loved so much. Suddenly, a light engulfed her from behind, and when she turned around, she saw that the doors of the temple had opened. Intrigued, she stepped through the opening. The magi entered into a huge chamber, that was lined with statues of all the kinds of creatures the magi had befriended , and many more. She was surrounded by a whisper, as of many voices speaking together, and a question was formed: "Will you lend us your strength, so none of us is ever enslaved again?" Loudly and joyfully, she cried her consent, and walked towards the back of the hall, where a empty bier was standing. She lay down on the cold stone and closed her eyes, losing herself in the whispering around her. On the battlefield, the besiegers readied themselves for a new assault, when a loud voice rang across the area. "A concord has been struck!" it boomed. "No longer will any creature serve a magi, unless from its own free will!" And the enslaved creatures were free from the charms that ensorcelled them and fell upon those that had subjugated them. The temple, however, closed its doors and sank beneath the surface of Lake Lakira; and it is said that as long as the magi dreams in the depths, friendship is the only bond that will hold between a magi and his creatures. Creatures Creatures related to Lake Lakira Category:Locations